Adolescence is a time during which we transition to independence, explore new activities and begin pursuit of major life goals. Goal-directed learning, in which we learn to perform actions that enable us to obtain desired outcomes, is central to many of these processes. Currently, our understanding of goal-directed learning in adolescence is itself in a state of transition, with the scientific community grappling with inconsistent results. When we examine metrics of goal-directed learning through the second decade of life, we find that many studies agree there are steady gains in performance in the teenage years, but others report that adolescent goal-directed learning is already adult-like, and some find adolescents can outperform adults. To explain the current variability in results, sophisticated experimental designs are being applied to test learning in different contexts. There is also increasing recognition that individuals of different ages and in different states will draw on different neurocognitive systems to support goal-directed learning. Through adoption of more nuanced approaches, we can be better prepared to recognize and harness adolescent strengths and to decipher the purpose (or goals) of adolescence itself.

青春期是我们向独立过渡、探索新活动并开始追求主要人生目标的时期。目标导向的学习是其中许多过程的核心，在这种学习中，我们学习执行使我们能够获得期望结果的行动。目前，我们对青春期目标导向学习的理解本身正处于转变状态，科学界正在努力解决不一致的结果。当我们检查生命第二个十年的目标导向学习指标时，我们发现许多研究都认为青少年时期的表现稳步提高，但其他研究报告说青少年目标导向学习已经像成人一样，并且一些发现青少年可以超越成年人。为了解释当前结果的可变性，复杂的实验设计被应用于测试不同背景下的学习情况。人们也越来越认识到，不同年龄和不同状态的个人将利用不同的神经认知系统来支持目标导向的学习。通过采用更细致的方法，我们可以更好地认识和利用青少年的优势，并破译青春期本身的目的（或目标）。